Knowing happiness (prequel)
by WhiteTigerKiara
Summary: Shikamaru thought that the kunoichi from Suna he had fought on the Chunin exams was a scary and tough woman. However, soon his perception about her started to change and he discovers in her one of the people he can trust the most.
1. Chapter 1

This fanfiction is a translation of one fanfiction in Spanish written by myself ( **WhiteTigerKiara** ) and translated by **Anamicenas**.

The story consists in following the original line that Kishimoto develops in his manga/anime and my rol here is only to complete the story we've already seen on the screen. Maybe it's bad to publish the prequel before the part I but I think that the cool things grow as long as you continue reading (till part II).

To create this fanfiction I've read all the chapters and I've seen all the episodes where they appear and my conclusion was that, from my point of view, Shikamaru and Temari are completely different when they interact to each other than when they interact to other people. They are connected in some really special way. You could smell it from far away.

Please, read with the love this couple deserves and take in consideration all the effort I've made (and my friend translating it). It's been a long time developing this fanfic.

 **So... finally! There it is: the translation...! Hope you like it!**

* * *

 **Original story in Spanish:** WhiteTigerKiara **  
Translation to English:** Anamicenas

* * *

 **Knowing Happiness (prequel)**

 **The characters from this story belong to the series Naruto & Naruto Shippūden © Masashi Kishimoto**

 **Chapter 1.**

Temari was the most troublesome woman he had ever met. After the battle in the Chūnin exams, even after Shikamaru quitted and because of that she won, she still felt frustrated. She felt worst than if she had lost.

He was thirteen-years-old. She was sixteen. Despite the age difference she seemed to take him very much into consideration. She didn't like to admit it, but she was very impressed with Shikamaru's performance in the exam. Maybe that's why it was her the one standing there, in front of him, willing to fight against Tayuya.

"We are allies of Konoha. We are the shinobi from The Sand." said the blonde.

"I heard the traitors from The Sand had signed an alliance with The Leaf, but I didn't thought you would be so fast in helping us" said Shikamaru.

"We didn't invade The Leaf because we wanted to. It was an order. And that's also why I'm here"

" _I see… so the Godaime requested help from the Sand… we are saved…_ " thought the shinobi.

"By the way" said the kunoichi from Suna, "Has that good brain of yours deteriorated?"

"Eh?" Shikamaru answered the comment from the blonde. It seemed like the news about his super intelligence fly fast.

"Are you going to give up again? This time I will take care of her."

"I'm sorry, but I cannot give up in here." said Shikamaru falling in Temari's attempt to get his attention. And she succeeded. "A man can't be protected by a woman."

"You are always talking that crap about men and women" said the blonde, "even if you try to hide it, is obvious you are beaten, idiot!"

"So you are the Leaf's allies. How much work you have…" said Tayuya.

"She uses the notes from her flute to create her illusions" Shikamaru informed Temari.

"I know!" said the blonde, "DAI KAMAITACHI NO JUTSU!"

" _She's capable to deflect the sound from the flute and at the same time cause physical damage. Attack and defense in a single movement. Unlike me, she's got pretty good techniques_ " Shikamaru thought.

…

"She's hiding…" said Shikamaru.

"Did she ran away?" said Temari.

"No, I doubt it" he said.

"I just got here, briefly inform me about the situation and tell me the analysis you've done about her abilities and her attack style."

"First, she uses the sound of her flute as her primary technique to trap her enemy in an illusion and then she'll inflict physical damage. Her thing is long distance fighting and genjutsu. She probably already noticed that her technique won't work against you. Also, is two against one. She won't show herself until we are trapped under the illusion"

"Sound, eh?"

"Yeah…"

"Illusion techniques are directed to the five senses of a person: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. Confusing one or all. And that aside, the biggest problem is that it can affect your hearing from a long distance while she hides and in the meantime we can't see her and we won't know when and from where she's going to execute her technique against us. By the time we locate where the sound is coming from, we'll be already trapped under her illusion" Shikamaru tried to straighten his broken finger. "From my point of view, we are under a very unfavorable situation. At his pace, sooner or later she'll trap us, so we should retreat and…"

"Who asked for your opinion? I only asked you about the situation…Don't underestimate my power." said the kunoichi while biting her finger to perform an invocation "If she thinks that while fighting against me she'll be safe if she hides and that her flute can reach us at a distance, how naïve!... KUCHIYOSE: KIRIKIRI MAI!"

Temari's technique swept away all the trees around and then they saw Tayuya wounded and buried under one of those trees.

"So, what do you think? It's over." said Temari.

" _How strong she is… is scarier than my mother…_ "

"Impressed?" said Temari while dedicating her best smile at him. Shikamaru's expression changed, she was terribly beautiful.

"… it _seems this time I have to be grateful_ …" Shikamaru thought without noticing the stupid face he was making captivated by the smile of the kunoichi from Suna.

…

"Why are you staying?" Shikamaru inquired.

"Is that the way you thank me? I'm accompanying you" said the blonde from Suna.

"What about your brothers?"

"They are around town, I came by myself."

Shikamaru didn't say anything else. He just stayed quiet, nervously moving his hands, making circles with his thumbs. He had some minor injuries and a broken finger, but his friends weren't as lucky.

"There's no point in getting desperate" said the kunoichi. Shikamaru looked up at her that was sitting with her legs crossed revealing a big part of her thigh.

"How troublesome…" he thought, slightly distracted by the posture of the blonde.

"Sacrifices are inevitable part of missions" she kept talking "You did receive emotional training, right?"

The Nara changed his face annoyed by that comment.

"Training is completely different from real combat. I understand what a mission is. And I can also understand how things are in the shinobi world. This has been the first mission I've been captain and now I understand… I don't think I'm made for this."

"You are unexpectedly boring and sometimes you act like an adult" said the kunoichi in front of him.

"I shouldn't have been captain for this team" Shikamaru tried to explain himself while standing up. "All I did was trust on everyone. I've been too naïve, and I'm not strong enough… This is all my fault!"

"Are you scared to be hurt?" said Temari. Shikamaru couldn't look at her and he started walking to the door where his friend Chōji was been attended. He was not willing to listen to the scolding of a girl, his pride wouldn't let him.

"Shikamaru" his father, who was leaning against the wall on the hallway he couldn't see, said. "A woman scolds you and you run?"

"This is so troublesome; I don't want to keep talking about this. I'm not a girl." the young Nara complained.

"Yes…" Shikaku followed "but you are not a man either, you are just acting like a coward."

Temari watched from her seat, with pity on her face, at how Shikamaru's dad was scolding him.

"Even if you quit been a shinobi, there will always be missions and someone is got to do it. Your friends will be assigned to another leader. And they all could die, but if you are their captain, your friends won't end up like that. If you think about it, you have gained experience that will help you grow and next time you will be capable to accomplish your missions perfectly. If your friends are really that important to you, think about it before you abandon them… Consider yourself lucky to have your friends under your command! That's what it means to be a real friend! Don't be a coward!"

Suddenly Tsunade came out from the emergency room.

"Everything will be alright!" she said to everybody on the hall. She sat down in front of Temari. "The cellular destruction caused by the pills has been stopped by an antidote I made. Thanks for your help Shikaku. The Nara Clan's medical manual was very useful. I'm pretty sure it hasn't been easy to collect all that data, it's the result from so many studies."

"Thank you" Shikaku said contently nodding at the news.

…

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune screamed while she was running to reach them "Hyūga Neji is out of danger. And also, I got some information, just a moment ago Hatake Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto came back… he's been treaded, but his life is not in danger."

"Only two…?" Tsunade said.

Shikamaru was still standing on that hall not knowing where to go. Temari kept looking, with much more pity on her face –if that was even possible- to the young Nara still in the middle standing. She couldn't stop thinking what could be going on through the mind of that boy. He was about to break down.

"Shikamaru, it seems like your mission was a failure. But everyone is alive, and that's what's important."

And he cried. He cried a lot, he cried with such rage of putting his friends at danger.

"Next time I will accomplish a perfect mission" Shikamaru said still with big tears on his face rolling down to the floor.

…

Shizune and Tsunade left and Shikaku followed after them. Shikamaru was drying his tears.

"Hey…" the blonde kunoichi from Suna said coming close to his back "is done, everything will be ok."

Shikamaru just saw how she was offering him a handkerchief.

"Thanks" he said, picking it up.

"Don't worry, you didn't fail" Temari said while putting a hand on his shoulder "for sure next time it will be better."

Shikamaru and Temari walked out of the hospital at a slow pace. Truthfully, Shikamaru didn't understand why she kept following him, so he picked up his pace. After a couple minutes walking he suddenly stopped and said:

"Why are you following me?" he said it is a very harsh tone. The kunoichi just frowned and was surprised by the attitude of the boy.

Temari looked down and just answered with sorrow in her voice:

"… you are so lucky to have so many friends, I don't have any friends in Suna. I don't know anybody in Konoha… and people is always scared of me because of my brother…" she explained to Shikamaru.

The first thing that came out to the young Nara boy's head was Naruto's suffering trying to get accepted by other people because he was a jinchūriki. Gaara was one too and that was a little detail he didn't think about. He always thought that the only ones that suffered were the jinchūrikis themselves, he never imagined that all that could also affect Gaara's siblings.

Shikamaru felt bad for Temari the same way he did for Naruto. So he said to her:

"Well…. I will be your friend In Konoha, what do you think?"

Temari looked up openmouthed and saw him with wishful eyes. Shikamaru's cheeks flushed a little noticing the reaction of the kunoichi:

"… that way you won't feel like you have no friends." he tried to explain, scratching the back of his head feeling a little bit ashamed.

Temari's face changed and a gorgeous smiled formed on her mouth, a smile even bigger than the one she showed him when she saved his life. Shikamaru was as red as a tomato this time, because he noticed, that in reality, she was a very sweet woman.

The Temari he met the first time was a very rough woman, so Shikamaru could barely understand how was it possible that, that girl could smile like that.

"Thank you" she said to him, still with that smile on her face, she came close to him and pinched his cheeks and kissed his forehead.

Shikamaru thought his head was about to explode when her lips touch his forehead and on top of that he could see in front of his eyes her cleavage framed by her lilac dress…


	2. Chapter 2

**Original story in Spanish:** WhiteTigerKiara **  
Translation to English:** Anamicenas

* * *

 **The characters from this story belong to the series Naruto & Naruto Shippūden © Masashi Kishimoto**

 **Chapter 2.**

"What are you doing in here?" the girl asked in a funny tone.

Shikamaru was laying in the grass, at the top of his favorite hill. As always we was laying facing up and with his arms crossed under his head.

"Isn't it obvious? Resting" he answered, annoyed, half opening an eye. But at the end he opened both eyes. That girl that decided to ruin his nap, was no one else but the one that had kissed him in his forehead when he was crying five days ago. The poor Shikamaru still had stuck in his head that image of her breast peeking through that dress. "How about you?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

"I was looking for you" she admitted with blushed cheeks. That comment made him turn his head and blush a little too" I needed to talk to you…

"And why it has to be me?" he said in an edge tone.  
"Shikamaru! Are you my friend or not?" Temari exclaimed reminding him about the promised he made days ago.  
"Oh… troublesome…" he thought regretting what he said about being his friend in Konoha "and so…" said the little Nara "what do you want to talk about? I thought you already had left to Sunagakure."

"I thought that too, but it seems like we are staying more time in Konoha" she said while sitting down next to him with her legs stretched in front of her. "We have work to do."

Shikamaru was lazily listening but some seconds later he lift up from the ground and stayed sitting next to her. His legs were stretched but spread out so he could pull some of the grass. His hunched back reflected his lack of interest about the matter.

"Seems like… Gaara is going to become the Kazekage…" Temari whispered. Shikamaru suddenly paid attention to the conversation "Since Suna has been without a Kazekage, things have been tense. Well, is not like things have been easy at any moment but… now is worst."

"And that's why you are staying in Konoha?" the Nara asked.  
"Yes…"

He didn't have to ask anything else. Temari's worried face was evidence of what the problem was.

…

"And what have you been doing lately?" the kunoichi asked in a better mood.

"Me?" he said surprised that someone was asking about his life "me… is troublesome… but I got assigned to teach at the academy. The good thing is that the schedule allows me to finish early and come here to take a nap."  
"Maybe I'll come by to bug you sometimes" the blonde said laughing a little. Shikamaru, while blushing he grimaced.

"It'll be better if you don't" he said looking elsewhere.  
"Relaaaaax….sometimes I want to sleep too" She leaned back and put a hand on her face covering her eyes so the light from the sun wouldn't bother her. The Nara was surprised because he thought the blonde girl was going to be a bother but instead she joined for a nap. Shikamaru leaned back too but stayed on his side so he wouldn't see her.

…

The next day, when Shikamaru was done with the classes at the academy, like always, he looked everywhere to make sure no one was following him and started walking towards his napping place.

Almost an hour later of resting Temari appeared, but this time she didn't said a word. She just layed back next to him, like the previous day and took a nap with him.

As days went by, both of them kept doing the same thing everyday. They barely talked during those days, but they felt comfortable making each other company in silence.

One of those many days Shikamaru started to feel uncomfortable with that situation, so when he got off the academy, he decided to go to another place to take his nap.

He didn't know how but an hour later she found him.

"You didn't go to the hill today" she said in a sad voice. Shikamaru got scared for a minute because someone found him at the top the roof where he sometimes went to sleep. He sat down and looked at her pouting. The blonde girl had a sad face and when Shikamaru saw that he felt bad. Temari's face was sad that he couldn't stay mad with her. On the contrary, he felt bad for trying to hide from her.

"Sometimes I come to sleep here too" he said not making a big deal about not going to the usual hill as always and not telling her about it. He thought about complaining to her and call her a stalker or something like that, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings. He knew she felt lonely and just needed some company. "Is a little uncomfortable, but you can sit here…" he offered her, trying to be kind, and putting a hand on the seat next to him on his right, showing her where to go.

"No… whatever, I'll go get a tea" she said still sad. Shikamaru couldn't feel worse and without knowing why, he got up and with his hands in his pockets and looking up to the sky, he said:

"I'll go with you… just in case you get lost."

Temari raised an eyebrow at the sudden attitude of the boy. But at least, her face wasn't a sad one anymore.

When they got to the tea house, Shikamaru ordered a cup of tea for him and he let Temari order hers. She didn't mind too much about the way he was acting because she thought all boys were like that.

What it did seem like a miracle was that he actually accepted to go with her.

The blonde kunoichi was looking away while drinking her tea and Shikamaru was slyly looking at her and he felt like an idiot for making her feel like that.

They finished their tea in complete silence and Temari just stood up and left without saying goodbye. Shikamaru felt hurt, but didn't say anything. Boys are not supposed to cry after all.

…

The next day Shikamaru had been already napping for two hours when he noticed Temari didn't come that day.

He thought that was weird so he decided to go out and look for her in all Konoha. In his head he had the idea that maybe he made her feel bad the previous day and now she didn't want to see him.

Shikamaru really couldn't understand why he cared so much about Temari's feelings. It was really odd, because never before in his life cared about how a girl felt, except for his mother. Even, when his mother wasn't feeling good he was relieved that it wasn't he the one that had to deal with it because it was his dumb dad the one at fault.

Shikamaru looked everywhere for about an hour and then he thought that maybe she was at the same place that the day before at this time of the day: at the tea house.

He got there and just as he thought, there she was. She was waiting on line to order. Shikamaru hurried up to get there before she ordered and he told the cashier:

"Two teas please" the boy with the black ponytail said. Temari looked at him surprised and smiled at him. When they got served, Shikamaru paid for everything and took the cups and offered her one. "Be careful, it's really hot."

"Thanks" she said still smiling. Shikamaru's heart, that felt wrinkled and contracted, got his vitality back.

…

As days went by, Shikamaru made sure to always let Temari know where he was going to be that day so she could join him. For him it didn't felt weird whenever she didn't show up.

Sometimes they talked and laughed. And Shikamaru felt how his heart was beating in a special way everytime she showed signs that she was truly happy.

"Today they are going to ask what I am doing" Shikamaru thought because he was supposed to go to lunch with his team and he didn't go. Instead, he went and had lunch with her. But he felt so good he didn't wanted to be separate from her. Being with Temari was as natural as breathing.

When he first met her he though she was one of those troublesome and bossy girls that was always screaming. And is not like she wasn't like that, at least not all the time. And when she was with him she was sweet and funny. With the rest of people she was tough, but not with him.

Temari was already finished with her tea, and Shikamaru that was still caught up in his thoughts, had still half of his tea. The young kunoichi noticed that and while she was waiting for him to finish up she laid her head in his shoulder. Shikamaru was extremely blushing and his heart started beating very fast.

At some point he tried to move and she thought he was trying to get her off his shoulder, but it wasn't like that. However, Temari did notice his blushing face and said:

"Are you ok? Do you have a fever?" She asked with good intentions. Shikamaru worried thinking that maybe she noticed how nervous he was.

"I'm fine" he said annoyed. Temari got up and said:

"Hey, don't talk to me in that tone…." she complained. "I know you are a good guy Shikamaru, so stop being so unpleasant."

Shikamaru looked at her grinning but when he noticed that Temari's face was about to turn sad, he smiled and said:

"I was joking woman" Shikamaru never knew that his smile was about to become sometime very important for Temari.

…

"Have you ever go visit the Hokage's monument?" Temari asked looking at the mountain.

"Yes, of course" Shikamaru said "they usually take us there at the academy."

"I would like to go sometime" she said.

"You want me to take you?" Temari paid attention to the words Shikamaru was saying, making him nervous so he tried to correct himself so she wouldn't misunderstand him "what I meant… you want to go…. And I… I can go with you?"

"Sure!" she answered not thinking too much about it.

"If we hurry up we can still get there in time" Shikamaru said "they close it a little after the sun sets."

The kunoichi looked up at the sky and saw how it was almost time for the sun to set.

"Let's go!" she said standing up and she started running through the streets of Konoha. Shikamaru just let his cup in his seat and tried to follow her but she was way ahead.

"Hey, do you even know how to get up there, troublesome?"

Temari laughed when she heard the new nickname.

"Troublesome?" she said laughing. Sounded like a nickname for someone that was annoying but she actually thought that it was funny that he was already calling her by a nickname. "It's true, I don't know where to go to get there, but I can still race you."

She slowed down a little to make the Nara hurry.

…

"You are not in good shape" she said mocking him when they got to the top and saw how Shikamaru was trying to catch up his breath while holding himself with his hands on his knees.

"I'm not the kind of shinobi that moves much in battle" he excused himself feeling attacked by her comment.

"But even with that you should stay in shape if you want to become something more than Chūnin" Temari reproached, trying not to sound too harsh. "Maybe I'll start training with you instead of sleeping."

"I already train every morning with my father" Shikamaru said complained.

"Well, double training!"

Shikamaru couldn't feel more awkward at that moment with the words the blonde girl was saying and he just scratched the back of his head looking down.

…

"I would feel very sad if you die in battle for not being in shape Shikamaru" she said looking at the sun that was setting.

The young Nara, that minutes ago was feeling annoyed, opened up his eyes and again, felt his heart beating so strong like those other times it did when he was with her.

"Don't die, ok? I need you in my life" she said blinding him with the light of her face full of happiness.

He didn't know if he was strong enough to stay alive in battle, but there was something he was sure about: that girl definitely was going to kill him of love.


	3. Chapter 3

This is a message to all that people who's telling me that Temari is kinda OOC:

I'm really sorry but I don't share your opinion. Here's my explanation:

I think that Temari is a tough girl but when she's with Shikamaru she even can't say why she's behaving that way.

She only does it and she doesn't think about it. And also considering that she's very young and innocent right now. She's not thinking that her behaviour is going to make Shikamaru fall in love with her.

I think that the essence of the characters, now talking about Shikamaru is that he LOOKS like a lazy boy and he's always blabbering BUT he really isn't a lazy person. The truth is that far of being a lazy person he's one of the Konoha shinobi that works like anyone else.

And Temari, she LOOKS like she's tough and rude BUT with other people thats OK. But when she's alone with Shikamaru she's really different. You only have to see how is her behaviour on the chapter 6-7 of the Shippuden. The most "tough" phrase that she could tell to Shikamaru was to make him work a lot. The rest of the conversation was calm and relaxing. Like other conversations they had time ago, when they were on the Chunin exams. Have you seen the fillers of the Chunin exams? I think the answer is on there.

This fic is arriving to its end in four chapters (there is this part: the prequel, the part I, and the part II, I'm writing the part II when she's going to live with Shikamaru.) I've watched very carefully every chapter to arrive to this conclusion of the behaviour of the characters so please, try to understand me and believe in me.

In the future you will see a tough Temari but she's not going to be that way right now.

* * *

 **Original story in Spanish:** WhiteTigerKiara **  
Translation to English:** Anamicenas

* * *

 **Chapter 3.**

 _Love? In what moment Nara Shikamaru…_

 _You only think you like her. You barely know her! But truth to be told, he could never stop feeling weakness for people that needed him. Like she did or Chōji…_

 _I don't have to protect Temari from mean comments about being fat because…. She is not fat but…. I feel like I have to protect her from loneliness and… the hate some people feel for her and her brothers._

 _Temari is a good girl…_

 _I hate seeing her sad. I have never felt like this before. I never thought that I would care so much for a girl…_

Shikamaru, while thinking about that, went home still confused with Temari's words in his head saying " _don't die", "I need you in my life" or "I feel good when I'm with you"._

He felt his little heart beating so fast when she said those things and she was happy. A whole new experience in his life.

The Nara got home and stayed at the door and suddenly he felt a cold sweat running through him when he remembered he was supposed to get together with his friends to eat and he didn't showed up.

"Oh shit…" he said going inside the house and taking off his shoes. He thought that they probably were already at home. And on top of that, his mother didn't leave anything for dinner because that morning he told his parents he was coming late since he was going to eat out with his team.

When Shikamaru got in, all the lights were turned off and he thought his parents were sleeping but then he realized that wasn't the case. Under the door in his parents' room he could see the light coming from the inside. Also, he could hear some weird noises that he haven't heard in a while. The first time he heard them was a day when he was already in bed. The other times it was always the same, when he was already going to sleep.

The sounds came from a bed creaking from the movement and heavy breathing and his mother moans.

It took Shikamaru months to figure out what was happening in there, but when he finally knew he just wanted to cover up his ears with a pillow. However, that day was the first one he heard the noises being fully awake and conscious. Also, the hall to get to his room forced him to walk in front of the room his parents were. He didn't want to spy on them on purpose.

That day was one full of coincidences because not only Shikamaru was able to see the light coming from under the door, but also he could see the side of it and it was a little open.

The Young Nara could feel his hands sweating and his heart racing fast. Spying on his parents was wrong, but it was their own fault for leaving the door open. What he saw next is something kids should never see.

Shikamaru saw his mother, sitting on his father's lap, hugging and kissing him while he was penetrating her on that position and was holding her from her buttocks.

His mother back was sweaty and her butt cheeks where pink from having his dad hands holding and squeezing them, keeping her close to him.

He kept looking for what was less than a minute, but felt like forever. Shikamaru felt how his heart was beating so hard that felt like it was going to come out of his chest. First because of what he was looking at, and second, because of the nerves knowing this wasn't alright.

The young Nara decided to give them their privacy and started to walk towards his room but then his steps made the wood creak. Inside, the couple stopped for a moment, and Shikamaru heard how one of them stood up and heard steps coming towards the door.

He hurried up towards his room so they wouldn't see him there standing in the hall. He got in there on time and closed the door.

It seemed like, whoever got up, didn't go too far, much less go into his room, so he felt relieved. Minutes later Shikamaru heard how the couple just resumed their activities, so he got inside his bed and covered his ears with the pillow.

" _This is embarrassing…_ " the thought while closing his eyes and finally falling asleep.

The next day was a Sunday. So Shikamaru woke up later than usual but his mother wasn't screaming at him for sleeping too much. Instead, he noticed how good it smelled inside his room. It seemed like she was cooking breakfast.

When he got up, he went to the bathroom and washed his face and mouth. Suddenly his stomach started growling letting him know that he needed to eat some of that delicious breakfast, so he went to the dining room.

He was expecting to find his dad, sitting as usual, reading the newspaper. But the only thing he found was the table set for three and his parents laughing together in the middle of the kitchen. Shikamaru came close and saw how it was like they were inside a bubble. For him it was a weird situation because not very often they were so affectionate with each other like that day. The young Nara looked at them and was filled with happiness at the scene. Suddenly, his mother turned and noticed him standing there and he saw how his dad looked at her with such bright eyes, but turn to look at him too. Both of them were smiling like they were totally different people.

"Good morning Shikamaru" his mother said looking so brightly that it was almost as gorgeous as Temari's smile. His little heart felt so alive that he smiled too. His mother came close to him leaving aside what she was doing and just hugged him and kissed him. He just stayed there paralyzed while his mother was saying something he could barely hear: "Set tea cups in the table." but he was hallucinating and took a little time to react until his mother said: "Come on Shika!"

The family finished breakfast and Shikamaru just kept looking at them so happy, and sometimes a little surprised at the attitude his parents had that day.

The young Nara went out to meet his team. He knew that the night before we was supposed to meet them for dinner and he never showed up because he went out with Temari.

Now that he thought about it, it was kind of embarrassing. He went out with a girl to watch the sunset and she said things like " _don't die, I need you in my life"._

His brain was still immature to be able to process and understand all that.

After some time walking, he got to the Yamanaka flower shop to find one of the members of his team:

"¡SHIKAMARU!" a furious Ino said behind the cash register.

Shikamaru got scared and started sweating when he saw how angry she was. It seemed like what happened the day before affected her more that he thought.

"Wh… what is happening Ino?" he asked stuttering.

"What is happening you ask!?" the blonde girl said coming from behind the register. "Yesterday we were supposed to meet for dinner, but since you decided not to show up, at the end it was just Asuma-sensei and me eating alone. It was SO awkward."

"I swear I thought Chōji would try to escape the hospital to come eat with you" Shikamaru tried to explain.

"Have you lost your mind?! How the heck was he going to escape? Sometimes I think you are so stupid Shikamaru…" the Yamanaka was screaming at her friend. "What were you doing yesterday that's got your brain not working today?"

The Nara got stressed at the question. Ino should never find out that he was meeting up with Temari every evening since three months ago. And even more, that the day before, he went out with her all day and they watched the sunset together. All that would sound so confusing for Ino and she wouldn't understand that they are just friends.

"I fell asleep" Shikamaru said thinking about a perfect excuse that his friend would believe.

Ino sighed, she believed him. It was a normal thing that Shikamaru would just fall asleep completely.

"Next time, don't miss it, since we will probably go out when Chōji gets out of the hospital."

"Sure!" Shikamaru said leaving the store and waving her goodbye. When Ino got like that it was best to just leave and he didn't want to stay to listen to her complains.

When he left he thought about going to visit his best friend. It was going to be three months now since Chōji was staying in the hospital and it was almost time for him to finally leave.

Shikamaru decided to go visit him.

"Hey, Chōji" he said finally going inside the Akimichi's room.

Chōji said hi to him with his hand since his mouth was full of food.

"I see you are getting better" the Nara said sitting at the edge of his bed.

"They take good care of me" the Akimichi answered smiling.

"What day are you getting out?" Shikamaru asked trying to confirm a date.

"In four days" his friend answered putting even more chips in his mouth.

"Ino said we'll go out to eat barbeque when you get out" he informed him.

"That something I won't forget!" exclaim the Akimichi.

Both friends stayed talking for a long time until a nurse came in and told Shikamaru that it was time to go.

When he talked with Chōji time always flew, almost as fast as when he was with Temari…

"Temari…" he whispered when he was leaving the hospital and suddenly saw her and her brothers walking in the streets of Konoha.

Shikamaru wasn't sure about talking to her like if they were close since she was the daughter of the Kazekage and the sister of the recently appointed Kazekage. Usually, he wouldn't care about things like that but since her brothers were present at the moment he did.

Temari noticed him and turned quickly to look at him. The young kunoichi was so excited to see him too she said hi to him with such intensity:

"Hey! Shikamaru!" Temari called at him smiling. Shikamaru slowly came close to the three siblings and said:

"Hello Temari, Kazekage-sama…"

Kankurō was very surprised at the way that boy was talking to his sister so he said to Temari:

"Do you know this guy?" the puppeteer asked arching an eyebrow. Temari quickly realized her mistake and tried to relax a little and act natural.

"Of course, you know him too Kankurō" she said acting like she didn't know what was he talking about.

"I mean, are you his friend or something?" the brunette said explaining himself so there would be no misunderstanding.

"Well eehhh… I asked Shikamaru if he could be my guide in Konoha…"

"And he accepted?" Kankurō was talking in such a tone, because he couldn't believe a guy like him would accept that easily to be a guide for his sister.

"That is very kind from you, Nara Shikamaru. I was looking for a guide and an official escort for us. It is perfect that you already accepted to be an escort for my sister, you could do the same for us. It would be a payed job of course, you could talk to the Hokage about it" the red-head boy said, not understanding how close his sister and that guy were, so he thought it was a good idea. But he didn't thought it would be a little awkward for his sister now that they knew she was going everywhere with Shikamaru.

"I don't know if it is a good idea…" Temari said almost whispering.

"Why?" Gaara asked without any expression in his face.

"Well…. If it's ok with you Gaara…"

"That's fine, that works Shikamaru" Gaara showed his siblings where to go, but Temari just stayed behind. She needed to talk to Shikamaru.

"Can I go somewhere just for a moment? since Shikamaru is here he can take me" his sister said trying not to sound so obvious. But for Gaara there was nothing suspicious about it. It wasn't like that for Kankurō though.

"Go ahead Temari, have fun" Gaara said and kept walking taking Kankurō with him before he could complain.

Shikamaru watched surprised at the scene, and now it looked like he was going to be alone with the Suna girl. Temari turned slowly towards him, with a hand in her face, giggling.

For Shikamaru it was just another of those awkward moments but also very interesting since he enjoyed the company of the girl that now had secretly become his little muse.


	4. Chapter 4

**Original story in Spanish:** WhiteTigerKiara **  
Translation to English:** Anamicenas

* * *

 **The characters from this story belong to the series Naruto & Naruto Shippūden © Masashi Kishimoto**

 **Chapter 4.**

"Where do you want to go?" Shikamaru kindly asked.

"I just wanted to relax a little…"

"So… do you… want….to go… to the hill?" the Nara said scratching the back of his head a little nervous. Temari just blushed at the way he said that. But she knew Shikamaru was just trying to be friendly.

"Sure!" she said and started walking toward that direction "let's go."

Shikamaru nodded and started walking towards the hill. The Nara just layed down and Temari sat by his side.

"Aren't you going to lay down?" he asked after a little while since she still was sitting.

"Yes" she answered coming out of her thoughts. It seemed like her mind was somewhere else, Shikamaru noticed that.

Temari layed on her side, which was a rare thing for her to do. Also, she was facing him. She closed her eyes and let herself go in the quiet moment. The wind was slowly blowing and the sun wasn't too hot on the skin. The trees gave away enough shade so they could rest in total peace.

Shikamaru couldn't sleep. For the first time in those three months, Shikamaru didn't take a nap.

He just stayed there staring at her. The Nara noticed her golden hair moving with the wind. It was blonde but it wasn't too light or too dark. It was a color like the sand. Her skin was white with a little pink in it, like the kind that turns a little red when the sun hits the skin. Her eyebrows were the same color as her hair just a little darker. Her eyes where winged and her eyelids where kind of peculiar and pretty compared to other eyes that he had knew. Her nose was perfect, it wasn't too big or too small. And her lips, pink, crowning a mouth with perfect teeth.

He kept looking all the way down on her, her chin, her neck, her breasts… showing off that cleavage on her dress. How can such a young girl have those breasts? The protector she wore on top didn't show off her too much, it made her chest look flatter than it was. Shikamaru looked at her admiring how beautiful she was. Temari wasn't like the other girls, all skinny. Temari had firm arms and strong legs.

When he saw her legs the first thing that came to his mind was that night he saw his parents having sex. His heart was strongly beating and he got all flustered looking at her. Without even noticing, his nose started bleeding.

"Oh no…" he whispered and he moved to put his head facing up and with his hand he cleaned his nose trying to hide the evidence with a leaf that fell from a tree.

When he finally was able to stop the blood, he looked at her again by turning his head. He tried to just stay by her side but not looking at her. If things kept going like that it could be troublesome. And one thing for sure was, the one between his legs.

Shikamaru wasn't one of those perverted boys. At least he didn't think he was. He wasn't going around like Naruto did with those sexy jutsus or trying to peep on girls when they were at the hot springs

However, for some reason he couldn't stop staring at Temari. It wasn't like a physical attraction. That was something his mind still couldn't fully understand, but somehow, during those three months he started to look at her in a different way.

It was like having her there made him feel at peace. He loved to spend time with her, even when he would never admit it.

Temari suddenly opened her eyes and found him staring at her. He was facing up and he was acting like nothing happened. When he noticed she had her eyes open, he stopped looking at her. She noticed and blushed. She never thought he was going to look at her like that. Then she also turned her body to face up too. They would never say anything about what just happened, it would be awkward for both of them.

In silence both of them were looking up and Shikamaru was hoping she wasn't mad about what happened.

"I have to tell you something Shikamaru… I'll be leaving in four days" she said making Shikamaru come out of his thoughts. Temari's voice was sad and he noticed it.

He turned to look at her and found her big green eyes in front of him.

"Four days? So soon?"

"Ha! Don't tell me you are going to miss me!" she said mocking him trying to cover how sad she was.

"It is not that…" he said looking on his side "it's just that everybody else my age is so loud and bothersome."

"It's because you Shikamaru, don't act like a boy of your age. You act like an old man" she said putting her index finger of her right hand on the right cheek of the young shinobi. Shikamaru just slapped her out of his face.

It had been just half a second later when he noticed he grabbed her hand and was holding it so he let her go right away, blushing. Temari thought it was funny how nervous he got.

"Maybe the last day you are here in Konoha we could go and eat things you can't find in Suna" Shikamaru suggested knowing how much she liked it.

"You are right!" she suddenly said sitting up "Would you come with me?"

Shikamaru felt how his heart was in pieces. In one hand he really wanted to go eat with his team since it was the day Chōji was leaving the hospital. But also, he really wanted to go out with her and see her enjoy.

"That's the day Chōji comes out from the hospital…" Shikamaru commented trying to let her know that on that day his friend was going to be the priority.

"I understand…" she said with a sad face. And now, his heart was completely broken. He couldn't bear to see her sad. She, one of the few people that now was so important for him. It was impossible. His heart wouldn't let him.

"You see… that day, at noon we can go out for lunch and later, when I'm done at the academy I can take you to the gate." Shikamaru said without really thinking about it. And then he thought how that proposal sounded a little bold.

But even with that, the way Temari was so happy was all worth it.

"Ok!" she said smiling "I accept!"

…

The rest of the days before she left went by too fast for him.

The previous day before Temari left they met each other in the rooftop, since it was raining and going to the hill would be a total disaster.

At least where they were, they could cover from the rain.

"I hate rain" Shikamaru said sitting in a big rock under the porch. He had his arms crossed behind his head and Temari was sitting on his side.

"Why do you hate rain?" she asked wondering about it.

"Because I can't look up at the sky and see the clouds. Drops of water fall in your eyes, and sitting under the roof I can't see a thing… and also…. It looks like if you are crying…"

"Do you have a crybaby complex?" Shikamaru frowned and looked at her, feeling upset.

"You really like to tease me, huh?"

"I like rain" the kunoichi said ignoring his words "is a rare phenomenon that happens in Suna. Is one of the things I like the most about Konoha. "

Shikamaru kept thinking how was it possible that something that he hated so much was so pretty for her. Temari, without a doubt, was a very peculiar girl.

"I really enjoyed staying here in Konoha all this time" the blonde kunoichi suddenly said. Now she had her hair a little wet and it looked a little darker in some parts. "… and it is… all because of you. Thanks."

"Don't thank me, I just did what you asked me" he said like if it was completely normal.

"You could've said no" she answered putting him at check.

"I'm not so cruel…. You could believe it or not" he said annoyed trying to look anywhere else other than her.

"I don't think you are like that… you are a good person, thank you for everything Shikamaru…"

…

Temari's last day in Konoha arrived and Shikamaru met her, as they agreed that day. The plan was that he would go with her to eat foods that only could be found in there.

What he didn't expect was that on that day he would end up going not only with her, but with her brothers too.

"Hello Shikamaru" she said a little distant compared how she usually was around him.

"He… hello…" Shikamaru stuttered surprised at the way she was talking to him.

"Where are you going to take us?" Temari asked like nothing was happening.

"You wanted to eat mackerel, right?" he said confirming what they talked the day before.

Temari nodded and she and her brothers followed Shikamaru to the place they were going to eat. In that moment he felt bad for not going to eat with his team. He was hoping to go alone with Temari and he didn't imagine that he was going to end up going with Gaara and Kankurō, they were really intimidating.

Shikamaru could still remember the few times in the past when Gaara was out of his mind.

Lunch went by smoothly. His mind was absent, completely outside from the conversation the three siblings had. At the end the Nara just said he had to leave because he had to go back to the academy. Temari, who noticed how odd he was acting, went after him and followed him outside.

"Shikamaru… I'm sorry…" she said referring to the fact that she didn't told him about her brothers. He knew exactly what was she talking about, so he chose to just accept her apologies and act like nothing was wrong.

"I'll see you later" he said smiling at her. Very few times Temari saw him smile like that. Maybe something was changing in him, she didn't know what. But what she did know was that the smile of that young shinobi was something that made her feel good inside her heart.

Shikamaru finished his chores at the academy and got together again with the siblings from Suna. But this time since he was finishing early, he had to take some of the kids with him to say goodbye to the Kazekage and his siblings.

"Be careful on your way back" Shikamaru said to the three of them.

"We will" Kankurō answered harshly because there was something about Shikamaru he didn't like.

Temari didn't say anything, just turned and started walking with her brothers. However, a few seconds later she just stopped and turned back to look at him:

"If you ever need something, I'll help you again, ok crybaby?" Temari knew he hated to be called like that, even more than he hated rain. Because it reminded him the day he cried so much. It was like a low blow to his ego.

"You talk too much… it's because women are so…" but Shikamaru didn't finish that sentence, because he forgot about it when he saw the way she was smiling at him before turning again to leave.

Later on that evening, Shikamaru went to take his usual nap. And was at that precise moment that he noticed he didn't know when Temari would be back.

 _"_ _It's not like I really care that much"_ he kept telling to himself. Or at least he was trying to believe that.

At the end it was impossible to fall asleep on the hill without her so he got up and went home. When he got inside, he didn't say hi to anybody. He didn't care about anything; he was in a bad mood and he was feeling confused.

He got in bed, and even when he tried, he couldn't not dream about the troublesome blonde girl coming back…


End file.
